Next stage on the road to a Workplace Parking Levy in the city - Steve Cardownie

Edinburgh is considering the possibility of introducing a Workplace Parking Levy (WPL)

They will consider a report on the results of “the public engagement exercise” on its “introduction” which generated 2621 responses.

They will have to decide how much weight to give the report and also take into account their political groups’ stance on the issue before casting their vote. So far there is not a consensus on what to do next.

The report breaks most responses down to percentages of those who participated in the exercise but, perhaps tellingly, includes the following;

“Many respondents felt there should be no WPL charge and stated that they were opposed to the idea of introducing it. They felt an annual charge was unfair, discriminatory and unrealistic. They compared it to an extra tax on working people and commented on the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and overly expensive local parking charges in the city already.”

This begs the question “How many is many?”

There may, of course, be a plausible reason but a more cynical person than me might think that this statement might be designed to minimise the opposition to the proposal and present a more favourable view of the public’s response.

After all, the £10-£12 million a year that it is anticipated the scheme will generate for the council is not to be sniffed at – is it?